Kael Veyth died on a Tuesday.
It wasn't dramatic. No legendary duel, no heroic last stand against impossible odds. Just a rusty blade through his ribs in a back-alley ambush by three thugs who wanted his coin pouch. He remembered the cold spreading through his chest, the taste of copper flooding his mouth, and the absolute indignity of dying for twelve silver pieces.
Then he woke up.
Same alley. Same three thugs approaching. Same stupid grin on the leader's scarred face.
What—
[ABYSS SYSTEM INITIALIZED]
[WELCOME, VESSEL]
[LIFE POINTS: 1/1]
The words burned across his vision in crimson script, accompanied by a sensation like ice water flooding his veins. Kael stumbled backward, his hand instinctively going to his ribs—no wound. No blood. His breathing was steady, his heart pounding with fear-fueled adrenaline rather than the arrhythmic spasm of approaching death.
"You alright there, boy?" The scarred thug stepped closer, his two companions spreading out to flank. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Kael's mind raced. I died. I know I died. That blade went through my lung. I felt it.
[LIFE POINT CONSUMED: 0/1]
[SAVE POINT RESTORED: AZURE DISTRICT ALLEY - 17:43]
[QUEST INITIATED: SURVIVE THE AMBUSH]
[REWARD: 100 SYSTEM POINTS, BASIC COMBAT MANUAL]
"I said—" The thug lunged, the same rusty blade arcing toward Kael's ribs.
This time, Kael moved.
His body twisted on pure instinct, the blade passing close enough to tear his threadbare shirt but missing flesh. His hand shot out—not trained, not elegant, but fast—and caught the thug's wrist. The man's eyes widened in surprise.
I'm stronger. The realization hit Kael like lightning. His grip was iron where before it had been reeds. The thug's bones creaked under his fingers.
"What the—"
Kael didn't let him finish. He yanked hard, pulling the man off-balance, then drove his knee into the thug's gut with enough force to lift him off the ground. The rusty blade clattered to the cobblestones. Before the other two could react, Kael grabbed the fallen weapon and thrust it up through the scarred thug's throat.
Blood sprayed. Hot and copper-tasting and real.
[LIFE POINTS ABSORBED: +0.5]
[TARGET: MORTAL (LOW POTENTIAL)]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 0.5/1]
The glowing numbers appeared above the dying thug's head, visible only to Kael. A translucent 0.5 that pulsed once before flowing into him like smoke drawn by breath. The sensation was indescribable—warmth, power, life itself flooding his meridians.
The other two thugs stared in frozen horror.
"You killed Brask!"
"He's a cultivator!"
Kael looked down at the corpse, then at his blood-slicked hands. His expression remained eerily calm despite the chaos of his thoughts. I killed him. I've never killed anyone before. I should feel... something.
But he didn't. The system's presence in his mind was like a cold weight, pressing down on emotions that tried to surface. Fear, guilt, regret—they flickered and died before they could take root.
Is this the system? Or is this me?
The two remaining thugs bolted. Kael watched them go, made no effort to pursue. His body was trembling now, adrenaline crash hitting like a physical blow. He leaned against the alley wall, sliding down to sit among the refuse and bloodstains.
[QUEST COMPLETE: SURVIVE THE AMBUSH]
[REWARDS GRANTED]
[+100 SYSTEM POINTS]
[BASIC COMBAT MANUAL ACQUIRED]
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: REACH BODY REFINEMENT STAGE 3]
The system interface expanded before his eyes, translucent panels filled with information. His current cultivation stage (Body Refinement Stage 1), his pitiful stats, a skill tree with dozens of locked branches, and a quest log that scrolled far beyond what he could currently see.
At the top right corner, his Life Points gleamed: 0.5/1
Kael's lips twitched—not quite a smile, more a grimace of dark amusement. "So I need to kill to survive. How poetic."
He forced himself to stand, legs unsteady. The corpse at his feet was already drawing flies. He should move, get away before the city guard arrived, but his mind was still reeling from the implications.
I died. The system brought me back. It consumed my one Life Point and reset me to... when? A few minutes before the ambush?
[CORRECT]
[SAVE POINTS ANCHOR VESSEL TO MOMENTS OF SIGNIFICANCE]
[DEATH TRIGGERS RESTORATION TO LAST SAVE]
[CURRENT SAVE POINTS: 1]
The words appeared unbidden, answering his thoughts. Kael's eyes narrowed. "Can you read my mind?"
No response.
He tried again, thinking the question rather than speaking it. What are you?
Silence.
Why me?
Nothing.
What happens if I run out of Life Points?
[PERMANENT DEATH]
[ACCUMULATE LIFE POINTS TO INCREASE SURVIVAL PROBABILITY]
Well, that was clear enough. Kael looked down at the corpse again, at the miserable half-point it had granted him. "So I need to kill stronger targets. Wonderful."
He bent down, rifling through the dead thug's pockets. Twelve silver pieces—the same coins they'd killed him for originally. He pocketed them along with the rusty blade. Waste not.
The Basic Combat Manual materialized in his other hand, a thin leather-bound book that felt warm to the touch. When he opened it, the pages were blank for a moment before ink began to flow across them like water, forming diagrams and instructions.
Demon Fist: First Form - Crushing Palm
Channel qi through the meridians of the arm in a spiral pattern. Upon impact, release in a explosive burst to maximize internal damage.
Kael studied the diagrams, his mind already analyzing the technique. The spiral pattern was inefficient by traditional cultivation standards, but he could see the logic—it created instability in the qi flow that would detonate on contact rather than disperse.
"Clever," he murmured. "Wasteful, but clever."
He practiced the motion dry, feeling how his newly strengthened body responded. The system had enhanced him when it initialized, bringing him from the absolute bottom of Body Refinement Stage 1 to something approaching competency. Not strong by any measure, but no longer the helpless merchant's son he'd been an hour ago.
Was that my life before? Before the system?
The memories were there but felt distant, like he was viewing someone else's history. Kael Veyth, third son of a failed merchant in the Azure District. No cultivation talent, no prospects, no future worth mentioning. His father had died in debt, his mother had vanished, and his brothers had abandoned him to fend for himself.
He'd been nobody. Going nowhere. Destined to die in an alley over pocket change.
Not anymore.
Kael closed the manual, and it dissolved into motes of light that sank into his skin. Knowledge flooded his mind—not just the technique, but muscle memory, timing, qi circulation patterns. It was like having practiced the move ten thousand times in an instant.
[TECHNIQUE LEARNED: DEMON FIST (FIRST FORM)]
[PROFICIENCY: NOVICE]
[PRACTICE TO INCREASE MASTERY]
He flexed his fingers, feeling the qi respond sluggishly to his will. Body Refinement Stage 1 meant his meridians were barely opened, his dantian a shallow puddle rather than a deep well. He'd need to cultivate, to advance, to become strong enough that ambushes like this were beneath concern.
But cultivation required resources. Pills, spirit stones, cultivation manuals, training grounds. All of which required money or power, neither of which he possessed.
Unless...
Kael's gaze drifted to the corpse. The system rewards killing. Stronger targets give more Life Points. Life Points mean survival, and the system gives rewards for quests.
A cold logic was forming in his mind, each piece clicking into place with mechanical precision. He'd need to hunt. Not beasts or monsters—those were for traditional cultivators with backing and resources. No, he'd hunt people. The wicked, the criminal, the ones the world wouldn't miss.
At least at first.
Morally grey, he thought with dark amusement. How convenient that I seem to lack conventional morals.
Whether that was the system's influence or simply who he was beneath the veneer of civilization, Kael couldn't say. And truthfully, he didn't care to examine it too closely.
He left the alley as twilight painted the sky purple and gold, his new blade hidden beneath his tattered cloak. The Azure District sprawled around him—a maze of narrow streets and crumbling buildings where the city's poorest scratched out existence. It was perfect hunting ground.
[DAILY QUEST INITIATED]
[CULTIVATE FOR 2 HOURS: 0/2]
[REWARD: 50 SYSTEM POINTS, MINOR QI RESTORATION PILL]
Kael found an abandoned warehouse near the district's edge, its roof half-collapsed and walls covered in moss. Inside, he cleared a space among the debris and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes.
Cultivation.
He'd never done it successfully before. Oh, he'd tried—everyone in this world tried. But without talent, without proper techniques, without resources, he'd never managed more than the faintest trickle of qi through his meridians.
Now, with the system's enhancement and the Basic Combat Manual's knowledge, he could feel it. The ambient spiritual energy in the air, thin and polluted this close to the mortal districts but present nonetheless. He drew it in through his breathing, guided it along the pathways the manual had etched into his consciousness.
The qi was sluggish, resistant, like trying to pour honey through a straw. But it moved. Bit by bit, circulating through his meridians, pooling in his dantian, strengthening the walls of his spiritual channels.
Hours passed. The moon rose. Kael remained motionless, his focus absolute.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE: CULTIVATE FOR 2 HOURS]
[REWARDS GRANTED]
[+50 SYSTEM POINTS]
[MINOR QI RESTORATION PILL x1 ACQUIRED]
He opened his eyes to find a small jade-green pill floating before him. Kael plucked it from the air and examined it. Standard quality, the kind sold in outer district shops for a few gold pieces. He swallowed it dry.
Warmth exploded in his stomach, pure qi flooding his system. His meridians, depleted from the cultivation session, filled rapidly. More than filled—they expanded, the spiritual channels widening fractionally under the sudden influx.
[PROGRESS: BODY REFINEMENT STAGE 1 → 47%]
Kael released a breath, steam rising from his lips despite the warm night. His body felt different—harder, denser, like his flesh had been compressed and refined. He stood, testing his movements, and found them smoother than before.
"Efficient," he noted. Two hours of cultivation plus one pill had advanced him nearly halfway through the first stage. At this rate, he'd reach Stage 2 within days rather than the months or years it took traditional cultivators.
The system makes everything faster. But the price...
He looked at his hands, still faintly stained with blood despite wiping them clean. The price is paid in death.
A sound from outside—footsteps, multiple sets. Kael's eyes narrowed. He moved to the broken window, peering through the gap.
Four men approached the warehouse, dressed in the leather and steel of city guard. But their movements were wrong—too casual, too predatory. And Kael recognized one of them: a companion of the thugs from earlier.
They're here for revenge.
Above each of their heads, translucent numbers floated:
[0.8 LIFE POINTS]
[0.6 LIFE POINTS]
[1.2 LIFE POINTS]
[0.7 LIFE POINTS]
The one with 1.2 was clearly the leader, a grizzled man with cultivation at what Kael estimated was Body Refinement Stage 3 or 4. The others were similar to the thugs he'd fought—trash cultivators with barely any training.
Total potential harvest: 3.3 Life Points
If I win.
Kael calculated rapidly. Four against one, at least one significantly stronger than him. Even with the system's enhancement and his new technique, the odds were poor. He could try to flee, but they'd likely track him down. The Azure District wasn't large, and he had no allies, no safe haven.
But if I win...
Three and a half Life Points would be a significant boost. Plus the combat experience, potential loot, and it would send a message to others who might think him easy prey.
[OPTIONAL QUEST DETECTED]
[ELIMINATE THE REVENGE PARTY: 0/4]
[REWARD: 200 SYSTEM POINTS, INTERMEDIATE COMBAT MANUAL, RANDOM CULTIVATION PILL]
Kael's lips curled into something that might generously be called a smile. "Well, when you put it that way..."
He moved away from the window, positioning himself in the warehouse's center where moonlight through the broken roof provided illumination. Then he waited.
The door crashed open. The four men strode in, weapons drawn—proper steel, not the rusty trash the street thugs carried.
"There you are, you little demon spawn," the leader growled. "Thought you could kill Brask and his crew and get away with it?"
Kael tilted his head. "I did get away with it. You're only here because one of them ran."
"Smart mouth." The leader gestured to his men. "Take him."
Three of them charged while the leader hung back, watching. Standard tactic—let the fodder test the opponent's strength.
Time to see if this system is worth the price.
Kael moved.
The first attacker swung a short sword in a wide arc. Clumsy. Kael ducked under it, stepped inside the man's guard, and drove his palm into the thug's solar plexus. The Demon Fist technique activated instinctively, qi spiraling through his arm and detonating on impact.
The effect was devastating. The thug's ribs cracked like dry wood, his internal organs pulped by the explosive force. He flew backward, dead before he hit the ground.
[LIFE POINTS ABSORBED: +0.6]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 1.1/1]
The other two hesitated, shock written across their faces. Kael didn't give them time to recover. He flowed forward, his movements predatory and precise, the combat manual's knowledge guiding his body.
A knife thrust at his throat. He batted it aside with his forearm, feeling the blade score his skin but ignoring the pain. His return strike shattered the attacker's elbow, then his follow-up palm thrust caved in the man's sternum.
[LIFE POINTS ABSORBED: +0.8]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 1.9/1]
The third attacker turned to run. Kael grabbed a piece of broken wood from the warehouse floor and threw it like a spear. It caught the man in the back of the knee, sending him sprawling. Before he could rise, Kael was on him, one hand grabbing his hair and yanking his head back to expose his throat.
The rusty blade, still slick with Brask's blood, opened the man's neck in a single efficient motion.
[LIFE POINTS ABSORBED: +0.7]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 2.6/1]
Kael stood, breathing hard but not from exertion. The rush of absorbing Life Points was intoxicating, like drinking lightning. His body hummed with barely contained energy, his dantian swirling with more qi than it had ever held.
The leader remained by the door, his confident smirk replaced by wary assessment. "Body Refinement Stage 1 with that kind of power? You've got backing. Which sect?"
"None," Kael said simply. He advanced slowly, giving the man time to make his decision. "Just me and a very convenient talent for killing."
"Demon cultivation." The leader spat. "I should've guessed. Only you demon path freaks would slaughter your own kind for power."
"Technically, they attacked first," Kael pointed out. "Both times. I'm just defending myself. Enthusiastically."
The leader's eyes flicked to his dead companions, calculating. Then he dropped his weapon. "I'm out. Keep whatever blood money you're after. Just let me walk."
Kael considered. The man was worth 1.2 Life Points—a significant harvest. But he was also higher stage, meaning experienced. Fighting him would be risky, possibly fatal even with Kael's current advantage.
If I let him go, he might return with reinforcements. Or he might spread word about me, making me a target for every cultivator looking to eliminate demon path users.
If I fight him now, I might die and burn my only Life Point. But if I win...
The system offered no guidance. This was his choice alone.
Kael's eyes remained cold, emotionless, as he analyzed the variables. Then he picked up the leader's dropped sword. "You know too much."
The man's face twisted in panic. "Wait—"
Kael threw the sword.
It wasn't a particularly good throw—he was no weapons expert. But at this distance, against a target frozen in shock, it didn't need to be. The blade took the leader in the throat, the exact spot where his Body Refinement Stage 4 cultivation had failed to extend his protective qi.
Critical hit. Pure luck.
The leader collapsed, drowning in his own blood, eyes wide with disbelief.
[LIFE POINTS ABSORBED: +1.2]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 3.8/1]
[QUEST COMPLETE: ELIMINATE THE REVENGE PARTY]
[REWARDS GRANTED]
[+200 SYSTEM POINTS]
[INTERMEDIATE COMBAT MANUAL ACQUIRED]
[RANDOM CULTIVATION PILL: BONE REFINEMENT PILL x1]
Kael stood among the corpses, his breathing finally steadying. Four dead in less than two minutes. The warehouse floor was slick with blood, the copper stench overwhelming.
He felt nothing.
No horror, no satisfaction, no regret. Just cold calculation and the pleasant warmth of increased Life Points flowing through his meridians.
Is this what the system does to me? Or is this who I was all along, just waiting for permission?
The Intermediate Combat Manual materialized, and Kael absorbed it immediately. More techniques flooded his mind:
Demon Fist: Second Form - Collapsing Mountain
Shadow Step - Basic Movement Technique
Qi Reinforcement - Basic Defense Technique
Each one imprinted itself on his consciousness with the same artificial familiarity, like he'd trained them for years. The knowledge was there, but the true mastery would only come with practice and actual combat.
The Bone Refinement Pill was a different matter. It was a higher-grade cultivation pill, the kind that typically cost dozens of gold and was reserved for outer sect disciples of major cultivation families. Kael examined it carefully before swallowing.
The effect was immediate and excruciating.
His bones ignited with spiritual fire, every joint screaming as the pill's energy flooded his skeletal structure. Kael collapsed to his knees, teeth gritted against the pain, refusing to cry out. The warehouse walls blurred in his vision, replaced by the system's interface:
[BREAKTHROUGH DETECTED]
[BODY REFINEMENT STAGE 1 → STAGE 2]
[SAVE POINT CREATED: AZURE DISTRICT WAREHOUSE - 23:17]
[CURRENT SAVE POINTS: 2]
The pain faded slowly, replaced by overwhelming strength. Kael's bones had become denser, harder, capable of supporting greater qi flow and absorbing heavier impacts. His muscles, tendons, and organs had strengthened proportionally, the entire Body Refinement process advancing in synchronization.
He stood, testing his new power. The difference was night and day. Where before he'd felt merely competent, now he felt genuinely strong. A casual punch split the air with an audible crack, his fist moving faster than untrained eyes could track.
[LIFE POINTS: 3.8/1]
[CULTIVATION: BODY REFINEMENT STAGE 2 - 3%]
[SYSTEM POINTS: 350]
[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: SYSTEM SHOP]
The shop interface opened before him, displaying rows upon rows of items:
Cultivation Pills - 100-10,000 SP
Combat Techniques - 200-50,000 SP
Weapons - 150-100,000 SP
Miscellaneous - Variable
Kael browsed quickly, noting the prices. Most useful items were far beyond his current purchasing power. But there were a few within range:
Minor Healing Salve - 50 SP
Qi Recovery Pill x3 - 100 SP
Basic Throwing Knives x10 - 150 SP
He purchased the knives. If the last fight had taught him anything, it was that ranged options were valuable. The knives materialized in a leather belt that wrapped around his waist, each blade perfectly balanced and marked with qi-conducting formations.
The remaining 200 SP he saved. Resources were finite until he could establish a reliable hunting ground, and wasteful spending would be suicide.
Kael looted the corpses efficiently—no sentimentality, just practical scavenging. The four men had carried a combined thirty-eight gold pieces, various minor spiritual trinkets, and one decent quality sword that he kept as replacement for the rusty blade.
He left the warehouse as midnight approached, disappearing into the Azure District's labyrinthine streets. Behind him, the corpses would be discovered come morning, another set of deaths in a district where violence was commonplace.
The system had given him a second chance. A brutal, blood-soaked second chance that required him to kill to survive, to sacrifice morality for power, to become something neither fully human nor acceptably demon.
Kael found he was fine with that.
His old life had been meaningless. This new existence, purchased with death and paid for in Life Points, at least had purpose.
He would become strong. Strong enough that no one could threaten him. Strong enough to survive in a cultivation world that ground the weak to dust.
And if he had to walk over corpses to get there?
So be it.